When we get to the roots of all things, we find we are all connected.

It has been a mystery ever since it was discovered more than fifty years ago, and all good theoretical physicists put this number up on their wall and worry about it.

~ R. Feynman

Mystics and theoretical physicists have a few things in common. They are interested in the mysteries of our universe, if not all life and planet forms. When you dig deep enough, you start to find patterns of order in a seemingly chaotic universe. The number 137 has intrigued scientists and seekers for decades. This number is considered auspicious, so intricately beautiful some say we may never understand it. Rabbis and the great Richard Feynman have marveled over it and its significance. Embedded deep in Jewish mystical tradition the Kabbalah and the golden mean, no wonder the number has us scratching our heads as we tear through the misguided vail of linear thinking.

You might say the ‘hand of God’ wrote that number, and we don’t know how He pushed his pencil. ~ R. Feynman

Ties to Science

The number 137 has many ties to science. For instance, NASA’s experts’ current calculations have indicated that the age of the Universe is 13.7 billion years. Other scientists have discovered that the number 137 (or 137.51, to be exact) is the Golden Angle, which is the golden section of the circumference of the circle. Botanists have discovered that many plants actually display the Golden Angle as part of the Fibonacci Phyllotaxis.

The number 137, which is the 33rd prime number, also shows up in physics. Physicists believe this number is linked to electrons and the possibility that an electron will be absorbed by a single photon.

Links to Spirituality

In Kabbalah, this number refers to the concept of Vessel and Light. In this case, the Vessel means the physical body while the Light refers to the soul.

Scholars suggest that humans face a challenge to ignite the Light that originates in the soul and then use that Light to spark the Light in the extraordinary 99 percent reality in order to shine in the world. Some who have studied Kabbalah believe that the 1 percent reality represents the realm of the physical world while the 99 percent – the hidden reality — results in wisdom and happiness. “We know that we are distanced and disconnected from the Light when we are opposite in nature because in the realm of consciousness or spirituality, opposites repel,” wrote Billy Phillips. “The only way for our physical world (electron) to absorb (receive) the Light is to imitate the Light, behave like the Light, and that stops repulsion. In turn, it causes attraction.”

Thus, Kabbalah scholars are suggesting that by embracing consciousness, humans can absorb and connect to the Light. Furthermore, those who establish a regular practice of consciousness can have a more lasting connection to the Light. The challenge that humans face is recognizing and controlling their egos (which disconnect people from the Light) and instead focusing on helping make other people’s wishes happen. This in turn, changes your life and has a ripple effect across your community, city, state and the world.

It’s one of the greatest mysteries of physics: a magic number that comes to us with no understanding by man. ~ R. Feynman

It’s also said by many Rabbis who have studied the number 137 that once you become aware of the integer sequence, it in turn becomes aware of you. Perhaps it is a part of the observer effect. The synchronicities that seem to occur with the number 137 have been well documented and for those believers, beyond coincidence how the numbers seem to show up. One famous story is of the great physicist Wolfgang Pauli who died in, you guessed it, hospital room 137. So whenever you think that science has finally discovered everything and that there are only coincidences, remember Richard Feynman and Wolfgang Pauli in connection to the number 137.

Dr. Bill Riemers said: Classical physics tells us that electrons captured by element #137 (as yet undiscovered and unnamed) of the periodic table will move at the speed of light. The idea is quite simple, if you don’t use math to explain it. 137 is the odds that an electron will absorb a single photon. Protons and electrons are bound by interactions with photons. So when you get 137 protons, you get 137 photons, and you get a 100% chance of absorption. An electron in the ground state will orbit at the speed of light. This is the electromagnetic equivalent of a black hole. For gravitational black hole, general relativity comes to the rescue to prevent planets from orbiting at the speed of light and beyond. For an electromagnetic black hole, general relativity comes to the rescue and saves element 137 from having electrons moving faster than the speed of light. However, even with general relativity, element 139 would still have electrons moving faster than light. According to Einstein, this is an impossibility. Thus proving that we still don’t understand 137.http://www.fotuva.org/online/frameload.htm?/online/137.htm

“Laughter is the best medicine.” That saying — which has been retold throughout the ages — now has scientific support for its claim. It turns out that laughter does have the power to boost physical and mental health in many ways.

Laughter and Nitric Oxide

Laughter triggers the production of nitric oxide, a signaling molecule that relaxes the walls of the blood vessels and enhances blood flow. The release of nitric oxide starts a chain reaction of other chemicals in the body that result in a shift in energy and a sense of relaxation. Interestingly, nitric oxide also has been described by some researchers as being the key ingredient in creating peak experiences.

You’re sitting in what seems to be an endless traffic jam worrying about whether you’ll be able to get home in time to get your children to their evening activities. As you contemplate the sea of red tail lights ahead of you, your mind jumps to the tight deadline you’re under at work, the mountain of unpaid bills due before payday, an upcoming doctor appointment and your in-laws’ upcoming visit for Thanksgiving.

Are you feeling stressed? If so, that’s not surprising and it’s not troubling if you rarely feel stressed. However, if you regularly experience high stress levels, you could be setting yourself up for trouble. According to Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, chronic stress can lead to a number of health issues. In fact, researchers have linked chronic stress to ulcers, sexual dysfunction, some infectious diseases, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, adult osteoporosis, brain atrophy and a faster rate of aging.

3 Ways to Let Go of Stress

What can you do to counteract stress so you can live a more peaceful – and healthier — life? Here are three options that you can easily fit into the busiest day:

Meditation – This practice encourages deep relaxation by focusing the mind, thus reducing the time spent dwelling on stressful thoughts. Regular practitioners find that meditation leads to a sense of peace, balance and awareness. Additionally, this practice can reduce negative emotions and provide a new way to think about stressful situations.

Practicing forgiveness – Researchers have found that being unforgiving causes higher blood pressure and heart rates and may hamper the production of hormones and disrupt the body’s response to infections and bacteria. On the other hand, practicing forgiveness helps keep cortisol, a hormone that is released in times of stress, at a normal range. Furthermore, research suggests the physical and mental benefits of forgiveness may increase with age.

While we all live in a stressful time, your response to stress can have a major effect on your overall health. Taking time each day to let go of stress through breathing exercises, meditation and forgiveness can make a tremendous difference in both your physical health and overall well-being.

Breathing is important to balance the nervous system. Sitting quietly while focusing the mind will change the brain when practiced regularly. We have found that the prefrontal cortex increases in gray matter when the mind is focused and attention localized into the space between the brows. Research also found that the areas in the Limbic System associated with stress, the amygdala, decrease in gray matter. Breathing practices, such as counting our inhales and exhales to increase duration over time as we practice the skill, is a great way to stay centered and transform from the inside out. People often claim they have noticed everything seems to fall into place with a continued practice. They feel more compassionate, altruistic, productive, energized, and balanced.

Now in my mid 40s, yoga and I met when I was 24-years-old. It was love at first sight. The philosophy toward health and balance resonated with me and…

One of the greatest obstacles, perhaps the only obstacle, to Self Realization, is the belief that our identity is a product of our mind. We assume, that what we are is the collection of thoughts, experiences, memories that make up the content of our personality. What we fail to ask is, if all we are is thoughts, emotions and experiences, who or what is it that thinks, feels and experiences?

A tree is made up of roots, trunk, branches, leaves and flowers or seeds. The leaves have the function of absorbing light from the sun and somehow turning it into living tissue, the miracle of photosynthesis. Each leaf has a definite life, it is born , it grows and it dies. At the end of its “life” it detaches from the tree, falls to the ground to become part of the earth in…

Yoga Sutra 1.2Yogas-citta-vrtti-nirodhah
Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of consciousness. (translation by Georg Feuerstein)

The most commonly known authoritative text on Yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Yoga sutras are a series of short and clear aphorisms about the workings of the human mind, written sometime between 500BC and 500AD. In the Yoga Sutras the goal of Yoga is defined as Kaivalya or liberation, and the means by which this is achieved is the cessation of mental activity. In other words the goal of Yoga is achieved through reducing mind to a minimum, mind less ness. Why is that? Is Yoga just the stilling of mental activity or is it what happens when mental activity is stilled? Of course most people practice yoga simply as a means to feel good and stay healthy, and may not be interested in…

How did this little girl from the projects come to be a thirty-one year old woman standing on a pole, thirty-five feet high with a surface the size of a paper plate? I’m not really sure, I just know that a couple of years ago if you asked anyone who knew me, they would have said, “No-way, not her.” When I was growing up my mother was always reminding me that I needed to be a lady. Also, that if I acted like a boy, no man would ever want me as a wife.

Once when I had been having a bad day my mother said, “Just find yourself a boyfriend and everything will be better.” After I had been married for several years, my grandmother confessed to me that she would pray that I would find a good husband. She explained how happy she was when she thought that I had finally found him.

Having been divorced for a while, one day I had an epiphany. Why didn’t anyone pray that I would get a good education or find a wonderful career? Women don’t have to follow. They can lead. I just hadn’t been told that I could. Some say that leaders are born not made. Well, I don’t believe that. We only know our true strength when we use it. Circumstances create leaders and the willingness to grow as a person into this leadership role is the first step. There is a saying that change becomes less frightening when the fear of staying the same becomes greater. This one simple saying has given me great strength over the last few years. There is a feeling I get in the middle of my chest that feels like I can no longer breathe unless I take action. Taking action is the key to becoming a leader. The action that a leader takes is not a reaction, but a proactive action. It forms to create; it does not form to respond.

Being a Leader does not mean that people follow you around in a thoughtless daze. Being a leader is making your dreams a reality. Being a leader encompasses giving direction and support to those around you. That is why I believe anyone can be a leader. Becoming a leader is like anything else one would train to become. You practice the steps and before you know it they are second nature. Walking the talk is one way of putting it. to develop to leader within yourself, practice these simple steps:

CREATE ENERGY!!! Project optimism and confidence. People are drawn to positive energy like moths to a flame. Simply having a smile on your face can create energy.

HELP OTHERS TO REACH THEIR GOALS. By helping others you gain respect and a base for cooperation. It is difficult enough to succeed when people are behind you; it is nearly impossible to succeed without support.

GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO LEAD. Planning is essential to leadership. Taking the time to try new ideas, develop goals and projected outcomes can ensure a positive result.

BE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR. Don’t forget communication is a two-way process. Communication is not as simple as most think; it requires sending clear messages and providing the listener with opportunities to process the information.

GET INVOLVED. BE APPROACHABLE. Remember, no one can lead from a distance. Hard Work always speaks for itself!

BE THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE. Focus on solutions, not blame. It is difficult to build while tearing down. When it is all said and done, the important factor is: was the task accomplished successfully?

DEMAND EXCELLENCE. By demanding the best of others and ourselves, we promote each other to Excellence. Believing in people gives them the inspiration to reach and surpass goals.

Sometimes the simple act of giving yourself permission to step outside the role you’ve been playing is all that it takes to find the leader within. When I finally told myself that it was okay to dream, that was the moment when my dreams began to come true. That is how I got myself on top of a thirty-five foot pole at the challenge course. Eight feet away is a trapeze that I am supposed to jump to and hold on. I visualize catching the trapeze as obtaining all of my goals. Well, here I go…!salsa!

I realized tonight comedians are natural yogis. They bring humor to help us find peace within.

Jeff Ross used comedy to entertain and inspire inmates in this clip Roasting Criminals. Watch it. There is always hope when we connect back to humanity, vulnerability and empathy! I truly loved seeing this moment so I rewound the TV show and recorded it with my iPhone. This captured a beautiful moment. Do you see it? 💕